Pelican hook



April 29, 1947. w, MacCLUNEY 2,419,650

PELI CAN HOOK Filed NOV. 25, 1943 INVENTOR ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 29, 1947 PEILIGAN Home I" 7 William Rtiiert matcianegfirtiiitifiit; Application November 25, 1943 seiiai 1%.; 511 7-28- 1' This invention relates to a releasable hook 'of the type. commonly referred: toas: a. pelican hook; designed especially for marine work although itwi11obviously be ofutility wherevera hook is required; capableof withstanding great strainand: of being releasable while under strain.- Such hooks-ordinarily comprise a pair of links pivoted togethenfoldableinto a position where they constitutea hook and retainablein that' folded-position by asrestraining link-which nevertheless canbe lifted: to: a nonrestraining, position.

It isranobjectof this invention to provide ahook: of, the character described which will with-' stand largestresses in=proportion to itsdimensions without yielding, but. which nevertheless may be readily opened.

. The-invention accordingly compriseszan' article of manufacture possessing the features; proper-' ties: and. the relation of elements which. will be exemplified in the article hereinafterdescribed and the scope of the application of which will be indicatedin the claims:

For a fuller understanding. of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying: drawing, in which:

Fig. l is-a'side. elevation ofa hook embodying this invention in the closed position.

Fig; 2 is "awiew taken froin the? other side showing the hook in open position with the restraining link raised.

Fig.3- is a front elevation of the. hook in the closed'po'sition. v

In the drawing the numeral 'I Ildeslgfi'at'es generally an elongatedlink; one=end"of which, as at I I, serves as a pivot for a link I2, one end of the link I2 having a bearing opening [3 atoneend tosurround the pivot end II-for;that purpose. Thelink IZ is-bent outwardly and-then upwardly, as shown at I4, to furnish adjacent to thepivot :I I an eye portion I5. Its upper end-.l 6 is arranged to nestwithin an upper portion of the link IB.

Each side of" the link In is provided with a lug or extension IFon'one sidetherebfj and in these lugs I1: there is pivoted a link I8. This linkdsf arranged to swing downwardly toengage them)- per end I6 of the link I2 or to swing upwardly to free that upper end. This upper end [6 of the link I2 at a point where it engages the lower end I9 of the link I8 is curved, as shown at 20, substantially along a radius centered about the center of the pivot 2| of the link I8, so that strain tending to move the link I2 will not tend to slip the link I8 upwardly to release the link I2. In

, tion-to the deliberate raising. of the link I 8 when* it is desired to release the hook.

In order; still-further to reduce the tendency" of the hook- -toopen 'understrain, the pivot center- 2 I and-the pointofcontact between the curved surface 20' and theg linkrl 8 areapproximately in alignment withtheeye portions I5. I v

It would understood that any strain imposed; upon the eye portiontends I to pull down-' wardly upon the link I2, while at the same time; because of the pivot; II, it tendsto swing end; I9 tothe right, as shown-at Fig. The sum of: the forces: produces a strain which isnot;.-quite; inalignmentwith -pivot gl and: the link I 9; For thisg'reason the-link I 8 will I therefore I also pref-y erably not be in exact alignment with-the eye I5.

To facilitate: opening. of the hook. the link I8 may-be provided witlra projecting stem '25 integraltherewith ,;-and-;ahandle 26aha-s at each end a bearing. zfl-byrwhich it is pivoted tothe stem; Witr this gonstruction it will beclearthatwhen the hook is irrclosed position; the-- handle mem-. ber 2 6 may be swung-.- about thestem 25* into theposition-shown in lEig.l3 ,'and shown indotted lines; in Fig. l, -where it lies beside the link I 2; A spring catch 28- iscarriedupdn the handle 26 in position to engage and latchupon the underside of the I 2 5 I thus accoinplishingv thedouble function ofholding; the handle in place and of ofierin' veryconsiderable; resistance against; any raising. of the.-

I8 jar or,-;accide nt,. or by bendingl reepe -sen ex s iv st i The curved portion 20 which, as we 7 ed; is substantially concentric" about the pivot" center" 2 I ma becontinued for" any" length d e siredland in man'y ca'sesit maybe continued to the end' 'o'f thelink. For'somelpurposes; however," l' prefer to provide an additional recess?!) be"- tween the curved-portion 2a and" the am er the link; so. that intl e event any jar mightnior'ne'n tarily I raise; the linkf I 8,: it wonld nevertheless be caught within the recess 30- and-restrain the opening-,of thehook'. This-recess 3i) has the furthei advantage that the hookmay be heldzin partially closed position during adjustment of the have stiat the linkfor convenience of attachment to a cable or chain or the like.

These hooks are frequently used under conditions where the strain is at times momentarily relaxed, and under such circumstances there is sometimes a tendency for the pivoted link I2 to swing inwardly, and then when the strain is again applied, to move outwardly with increased force. To avoid the possibility that the link l2 might under such,circumstances strike the link-l8 and throw it upwardly, improperly releasing the hook,

I prefer to provide upon the link 20, upon the inside of the pivot 2|, a lug 32 in position to engage the backside 33 of the end I6 of link I2, this lug bein so positioned that as the link [8 1 is swung downwardly to lock the link l2 in place, the lug 32 will come into engagement with the 4 link in position to press against the side of the free end of the curved link opposite to the said outer side, whereby the said free end is retained against movement in either direction.

3. A hook of the character described comprising a main link having an attaching means at one end and a second link pivoted to its other end, said second link being curved outwardly from its pivot to form an eye and having its upper end nested within said main link when in closed position, a retaining link pivoted to said main link in position to be swung over the free end of the curved link to engage the same, or upwardly above the free end to release the same,

and a lug upon said main link in position to cause theretaining link resiliently to engage it backside 33 and preferably will slipaslightly over dead center, thereby holding the link I2 rigidly.

against vibration in either direction.

I also prefer to provide upon the side of the links; lug 40 in position and Ma sizeto permit the link l8 to snap over it as thelink is brought to the position shown in Fig.- 1, and -to hold the link I8 resiliently against being thrown upwardly by accident. 4

Since certain changesmay be'madein the above construction and "different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the'scope thereof, -itis intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in} theaccompanying-drawing shall be interpreted "as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It-is also to claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specificfeatures of the inventionherein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter-of language, might .be said to'fall therebetween.-

Having described my invention, whatI claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1.- -A hook of the -character-described comprising" a main link having an attaching means at one end and a secondlink'pivoted to its-other end, "said second link being curved outwardly from its pivot to form an eye and having its upper end nested'withinsaid main link when in closed position a retaining link pivoted to said main linkin position to be swung over the free end of the curved linkftoj engage the same, or upwardly above-the free end to release the same, and-fa lug upon said main' link in position to cause" the retainin linkresiliently to engage it as the retaining-link is swung into retaining-position and to bear a'g'ain'st the retaining-link to hold it in retaining position. I 1

2. A hook of the character described comprising a main link having an attaching means-at one end and a second link pivoted to its other end, said second link being curved outwardly from its pivot to form an eye and having its up per end nested within said main link'when in closed position, a retaining link pivoted to said main link in position tobe swung over the free end of the curved link to en age the outer side of the same, or upwardly above the free end to release the same, and a lug upon said retaining be understood that th renewing as the retaining link is swung into retaining position and to bear against the retaining link to hold it .in retaining position, and a second lug upon said retaining link in position to press against the side of the free end of the curved link opposite to the said curved surface, whereby the said freeend isretained against movement in either direction.

4. A hookof the character described comprising a main link having an attaching means at one end and a second link pivoted to its other end, said secondlink being curved outwardly from its pivot to form an eye and having its upper end nested within said main link when in closed position, a retaining link pivoted to said main link in position to be swung over the free end of the curved link to engage the same, or upwardly above the free end to release the same, said free end having a curved surface at the point where it engages said retaining link, the curvature being such that the retaining link is urged downwardly by pressure against such surface, said surface terminating at its upper end in a recess constructed and arranged to receive the lower end of said retaining link when it slips above said surface.

5. A pelican hook comprising a main link having at one end a chain' receiving portion, a movable arm pivoted'to the other end of said link having a" pair of recesses in its free end and a closing mechanism pivoted to said main link constructed to engage one of said recesses to hold said link partly closed and the other of said recesses to hold saidlink completely closed.

' WILLIAM ROBERT MACCLUNEY.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following references are of file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS record in the 

